


Talking Solo

by Noppoh



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, High School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 12:32:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17080400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noppoh/pseuds/Noppoh
Summary: After always having been a wallflower, Rey suddenly starts getting attention from one of the school's most popular guys: Kylo Ren. At least, if that's what you can call his repeated insults. By the Force, what does he want from her?





	Talking Solo

**Author's Note:**

  * For [qiras](https://archiveofourown.org/users/qiras/gifts).



> For the sake of the story, Rey and Kylo are the same age. I needed them in the same classes and in high school, combined with an emancipated Rey. Therefore they’re both seniors.
> 
> M for swearing and a racist slur
> 
> Many kudos for my beta, who calmed my 'is this any good?' nerves and generously provided me with a title.

She watched him with narrowed eyes. How someone so broody and dark and- and- _whatever-_ could be so popular, she didn’t know. He was utterly unapproachable–glaring at everybody who even deigned to look at him too long and snarling at those who dared to talk to him. Except for his two friends–Hux and Phasma–he didn’t seem to interact with anybody.

Except her. For some reason, Kylo Ren had decided to take an interest in her. A decidedly negative one. He seemed to find joy in tormenting her whenever their paths crossed. Which was often, given that they shared a couple of classes.

Up until about a month after the school year had started, everything had been progressing as usual. Being a transfer student with social funding, Rey kept her head down and studied hard. It worked perfectly. Beside a couple of close friends, nobody paid her any attention. A grey mouse. A fly on the wall. It was all she wanted.

But, out of the blue, without any warning whatsoever, Kylo had decided she was a good distraction for his boredom. There was no other explanation for the sudden interest he seemed to show her.

At that moment, his eyes roamed the hallway after he closed his locker and she quickly ducked her head. To no avail.

“I heard you pulled a double shift yesterday,” his deep voice spoke next to her. “You think your homework will be worth grading?”

Rey gnashed her teeth. The fact that she had a job in a small café was one of his favourite things to comment on. That it was popular with the other kids did not help. She figured he must find it highly amusing that she had to work in order to survive, rich as he was.

At 16, she had decided to opt for emancipation from the foster house she had been in. It had been a gruelling process, but well worth it. The people who fostered her were not averse to child labour and Rey had the feeling that the foster system couldn’t care less.

Gnashing her teeth even harder, Rey closed her locker. She turned to glare up at Kylo. He was leaning against the locker next to hers–its owner standing a bit further away, wide-eyed and waiting for him to leave–Phasma and Hux waiting for him a bit down the hall.

He was so damned tall! And had the man never heard of colour? Everything about him was black; his wavy hair, his eyes, his clothes, all of it. And then there was the intensity. His focus was so singularly that it was almost a spear. Definitely creepy.

“You must have thought it a difficult assignment for you to say such a thing,” she countered him. She wasn’t the type to back down simply because he was _popular_. (And tall, so, so tall.) “Scared you’re going to fail?”

Unsurprising to her, his lip curled in dismay. He hated to be baited, she knew. Often enough, she had seen that lip go up at a comment of hers. There was a form of satisfaction to be found in knowing she could hit him right back.

Even though, in this case, she was lying through her teeth. The assignment _had_ been difficult. She’d stayed up until the early hours in an attempt to finish it and she could only hope it was sufficient to get a passing grade from her least favourite teacher.

In order to keep her financial support, she needed the grades. What the system didn’t seem to think about, however, was that in order to survive, she needed to work, and _that_ was detriment to studying. But life wasn’t fair. _That_ she had learned from an early age on.

“Well,” he said, almost snarling, “in that case you shouldn’t have any problem with the pop quiz Snoke is planning on.” He smiled unpleasantly at her shocked–and probably slightly panicked–expression. “Must be great to be so smart that you don’t even need the time to study,” he added mockingly.

Rey could feel her blood boiling as he walked away. Hux clapped him on the shoulder while Phasma rolled her eyes. The three of them had a strange friendship and Rey often wondered about where it had its roots. They were favourites of the Business professor Snoke, but she didn’t know if their friendship started before or after they met each other in his class.

It was not as if she was interested enough to ask. Not at all. Why would she? He was a bully; a full-blown dickhead. In fact, she hated him, so why would she care?

“You okay?”

She jumped in surprise at Rose’s voice. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Was he acting like a jerk again?”

“When doesn’t he?”

Rose gave a one-shouldered shrug. “You’ve got class with him for second period, right?”

“Sadly enough, yes. To make matters worse, Snoke is apparently planning a surprise quiz. I took a double shift last night so I didn’t have the time to study. I barely got my homework done.”

“You want me to cover for you during first period? It’s only Engine Mechanics.”

Rey contemplated the offer for a moment before turning it down. “I can’t risk it,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll just have to hope for the best. With some luck, Akhbar will show us a movie on the engine he wants to discuss and I can risk opening my Business textbook.”

“If you say so…”

Rose sounded as convinced as Rey felt, but she really had no other option.

xXxXxXx

“It wasn’t as simple as you claimed it to be, huh?” Rey felt like hitting him as she hastened out of the classroom. “I saw you frown at the questions. Did you get any right?”

“What were you doing, staring at me?”

She knew it was a weak counter, but after the disaster that was the pop quiz, she really didn’t feel like talking, let alone trade insults. Much to her surprise, Kylo grinned.

“I thought it amusing that, despite your earlier words, you seemed to be struggling while I found the quiz to be rather easy.”

She didn’t deign to respond; instead, she quickened her step. Of course, given that he was so damned tall, he easily kept pace. Why? Why did he feel the need to torment her?

“I would say you need a tutor.”

“Gee, thanks!” Rey snapped.

“I’m only saying…”

“I’ll make sure to invest in some earbuds then,” she countered.

He abruptly stopped following her. With angry movements, Rey dropped her books in her locker and grabbed her overall. At least the next two hours were practicals. A ponce as he was, Kylo Ren did not get his hands dirty. Two full hours of being free of him were more than welcome.

xXxXxXx

Of course, it never ended. She had gotten used to his insane staring, had even learned to merely roll her eyes as he made another inane comment, but when they got the results from Snoke’s test back, everything bubbled over.

As usual, he followed on her heels as she left the classroom. She had failed the test and felt like crying. She couldn’t afford to fail, she really couldn’t, and then he budged in.

“Why are you so upset?” he asked. “It’s only one test, one grade. I mean, you come from nothing; you should be happy with what you get.”

“Oh really?” she snapped at him. “Now you’re finally letting the cat out of the bag, huh?”

His eyes widened almost comically, but she hardly noticed. Rage was travelling along her veins and obscuring her vision as she turned on him.

“I’m a nothing to you? That’s it? You badger me and follow me because as a nothing, it doesn’t really matter what happens to me? Who the hell do you think you are?” Rey screamed. A crowd started gathering around them. “Or is it that you think I’m not supposed to be here? You want me gone? Out of your precious school? Well, guess what! I’m. Not. Leaving! So put your ego and prejudices where the light doesn’t shine and leave me the fuck alone!”

She stomped off and shouldered her way through the crowd. Deciding that the day couldn’t possibly get any worse, she marched out of the school, off campus, and into the city beyond. She would deal with the consequences later. Right now, she just needed to get away from it all.

Finding a bench in a deserted part of the nearest park, she flopped down and put her head in her hands. Before she truly realised it, tears were running down her cheeks. She hated Kylo Ren! Truly hated him! Who did he think he was? To try and put her down like that! Life was hard as it was; she didn’t need him to make it even harder.

In the end, she wandered through the city for the rest of the day until it was time for her shift in the café. Her friends texted her, asking questions, but she merely answered them that she was fine and would see them the next day. Maz–the coffee shop owner–must have caught wind of what had happened because she shoed Rey into the kitchen, claiming help was needed there even though it obviously wasn’t.

The next morning, she took a deep breath, lifted her head high, and confidently walked back into the school. As suspected, people around her started whispering. She tried her best to ignore them, heading straight to her locker. She couldn’t, however, suppress a sigh when she noticed Kylo spotting her and immediately coming her way.

“What?” Rey immediately said when he arrived.

“I- Well-“ He dragged his hand through that ridiculously wavy hair of his–what shampoo did he use???–and worried his lips.

“Leave her alone!”

Rey tried not to show how startled she was at Finn’s sudden appearance. Looking over her shoulder, she gave him a small, grateful smile. He didn’t notice as he was staring intently at Kylo. She wondered where he got the nerve; usually, Finn was a very timid guy.

“Don’t you think you’ve harassed her enough?” Finn continued.

Kylo sneered. “You’ve got something to say?”

“Well, yes!” Finn answered. Rey almost cringed as he puffed up his chest. She appreciated his effort, but she knew it was all bravado. “You should leave Rey alone. I don’t know what your deal is, but you’re being a right pain in the ass!”

“Is this low-class brownie addressing _you_?”

Rey practically growled at Hux’s posh voice insulting Finn. Her friend was gaping at the redhead, his mouth moving like that of a fish on dry land. She watched as Kylo glanced at his friend, his demeanour somehow changing.

“I guess,” Kylo snorted. “It seems he feels like he’s got something to say but all I can hear is buzzing.”

“Stop wasting your time, Kylo.” Phasma had joined the group. “Let’s go to our next class. This is hardly entertaining.”

Kylo shrugged. He cast a last look at her before he followed Phasma and Hux down the hall, his shoulders slightly hunched and his hands in his pockets.

“You okay?” Finn asked after a minute.

“I’m fine,” Rey answered. “Are you?”

“Yeah. It’s not like I’ve never heard it before.” He shrugged but the tension in his jaw betrayed him.

“Still, they shouldn’t be able to get away with it,” she commented.

Finn shrugged again. “So, where were you off to yesterday?”

“Here and there. I just needed to get away.”

He nodded knowingly. Rey wondered just how much he truly understood. Sometimes, she found it difficult to read her friend. As the bell rang, they each went their separate way.

xXxXxXx

“What is it you so desperately want to achieve?”

Another day and another jibe from Kylo. Rey wondered if she would ever become immune to it. His comments and constant presence had gone on long enough; one would think it would become nothing more than a nuisance.

“What do you want, Kylo?” she sighed.

“An answer.”

She glanced up at him–why was he so _tall_?–and frowned.

“An answer? That’s a rather uninspired answer, certainly from you.”

He mumbled something she thought might be ‘trying a different tactic’. She figured she got it wrong.

“Well?” he said. “Am I going to get it?”

“What?” She’d gotten distracted with studying his face. It was … unique. It suited him.

“My answer!”

“Oh.” Rey blinked and thought about what to tell him. “What I want to achieve? I want to become a mechanic, work with space ships, perhaps even design them.”

He stared at her and she could feel herself starting to blush. It infuriated her.

“You think I can’t do it?” she lashed out.

So many people had already told her that; that she was a lowlife and couldn’t possibly achieve something like that, that such studies were too hard for a woman, that she should set her eyes on something easier, or on a family instead of a career. She wanted to kick them, hit them in the face, but she needed a clean record alongside her good grades.

‘No, yes, I mean-“ He continued staring at her, dragging his hand through his hair. “Then why freak out over Business class?”

“Because I need those grades.”

“For mechanical engineering?”

She wanted to shout out her frustration, because he was right. She did not need the class at all for her engineering studies. Rather on the contrary, it was preventing her from taking classes that _would_ come in handy, but it was a requirement for her financial support. She didn’t’ know why, and she found it the most ridiculous requirement ever, but it was a rule to be followed. Of course, she would _not_ tell rich boy Kylo Ren that.

“What do you care?” she barked, before marching off. What was it with him? Why did he keep barging into her life like that? Why, why, why?

“Him again?” Rose asked as she caught up with Rey for their next class.

“Yes,” Rey answered, still feeling annoyed.

“You really shouldn’t let him get under your skin like that.”

“As if I don’t know that!”

“Sorry, forget I said anything.”

Rey sighed. “Rose, I didn’t mean it like that, I’m sorry. Hey, why don’t you and the rest of the group come to Maz’s coffee shop during my shift? I can sneak you a muffin.”

“One day, Maz is going to catch you doing that,” Rose laughed.

“Sometimes,” Rey answered, “I think she already knows.”

Later that day, as planned, they all found themselves in Maz’s coffee shop. Finn had brought his boyfriend, Poe, Kaydel was only half present, as usual, sketching in her sketchbook, and Rose had been joined by her older sister Paige, who, in turn, had brought her dog BeeBee.

It warmed Rey to have them all in the shop while she was working. She could only join in on the conversation while passing by, but having her friends there did calm her nerves and make the job more enjoyable. When it was time for her break, she ditched the apron and flopped down on a chair at their table.

“Busy day, huh?” Finn commented.

“Yeah, my break will be short I’m afraid.”

“Did Kylo bother you any more today?” Rose asked.

“No,” Rey answered. “Didn’t see him anymore. A blessing, I guess.”

“I don’t know.”

The entire group–even Kaydel–turned to stare at Poe.

Rose was the first to recover. “Excuse me?”

“Finn told me all about it and I think you might be misjudging him?”

“Do you now?” Rey snarled.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Poe was quick to amend, “he’s behaving like a jackass, but I think he actually means well.”

“Hun, I don’t like disagreeing with you, but how’s that even possible?” Finn asked.

“Well, he asked you what your plans are earlier today, right?”

“He asked me what I so _desperately_ wanted to achieve.”

“I’m not saying he’s using the right language,” Poe answered. “Take away how he phrased it, and you come up with him asking you about your future.”

Rey merely raised an eyebrow.

“There are more incidents like that,” Poe continued. “He warned you for a pop quiz, worried about you working too much, tried to reassure you that failing the pop quiz wasn’t detrimental, and then practically proposed to tutor you. I even think he wanted to apologise that one time Finn interrupted him.” He shrugged. “Finn told me about the one time he followed you for a bit on your way home. Did you know someone was attacked in the park there later that day? And if I understood correctly, every time he shows up here, he’s alone, without his two friends. Don’t you think that’s because he wants to see you?”

The entire group was staring at him in complete befuddlement.

“I’m just saying,” Poe continued after a minute of uncomfortable silence. “He’s behaving like a complete idiot, but he’s trying to get to know you and help you.”

“You can’t be serious?” Rey finally managed to say.

“I am.”

“No way!” Rose breathed.

“Can’t be,” even Finn added.

“Think about it.” Poe shrugged. “It makes sense.”

“Force! My break is over.” Rey stood. “You’ve got crazy ideas, Poe,” she said, shaking her head before grabbing her apron and returning to her job.

Her friends easily started talking again after another few odd looks at Poe. They left twenty minutes later. Rey waved them off–finally pushing the promised muffin into Rose’s hands.

xXxXxXx

Days later, Poe’s words still rang in her ears. It bothered her that she could find a sliver of truth in them, even though she thoroughly hated Kylo. She really did! Really! No matter that he seemed to stay away from her the last couple of days.

It was a coincidence, she was certain. He must be busy, or studying, or, or- She didn’t know, but it had nothing to do with her, for sure!

He still watched her from across the hallway, but he didn’t approach her anymore. There were no snide comments, no casual remarks, nothing. It was decidedly odd.

“Why do you think he changed his behaviour so much?” Rose asked her as they were changing text books from their lockers.

“Beat me,” Rey answered.

“You don’t sound as happy about it as you should.”

“It makes me uneasy.”

“Poe’s words?”

“Ugh, I wish he’d never said them!”

Rose sniggered. “You watch him almost as much as he watches you,” she commented after a while.

Rey quickly looked away from Kylo. “I do not!”

“Yes, you do.”

“It’s because I got used to being on my guard whenever he’s around.”

“Sure.”

“Rose! What’s gotten into you?”

She didn’t answer and merely gave Rey a small smile. “Don’t you need help with your Business class?” she asked. “Why not test Poe’s words and ask for his assistance?”

“Have you gone mental?! That would be like inviting him to start harassing me all over again!”

“Whatever you say.”

Rey clenched her teeth at her friend’s flippancy but didn’t respond. If she was honest, she _did_ need help. She was failing the class and lately she felt like no matter what Snoke was explaining, it didn’t make any sense.

She mulled the idea over for another week but when she failed yet another test, she decided to risk it. Gathering her courage, she waited for Kylo next to the classroom door after another gruelling hour of nonsense.

“Uhm, Kylo?” she said as he appeared.

He startled and stared at her, before glancing towards Hux and Phasma. Both of them left–Phasma with an obvious roll of her eyes.

“Yes?” he asked, putting his hand behind her shoulder to guide her further down the hall.

Rey fumed at the casual touch. Who did he think he was? Did he really think it appropriate? He was looking at her and finally dropped his hand–quickly, as if he hadn’t quite realised it was resting on her shoulder. Rey made a conscious effort to calm down.

“You’re good at this, right?” she managed to blurt out.

“At what?”

“Business.”

“Oh! Well, yes, I guess.”

So far so good, Rey thought. He hadn’t made any snide comment yet. Sure, some would come after what she was about to say next.

“Do you think you could explain a couple of things to me?”

He opened his mouth, closed it again, then worried his lips. Rey quickly grew impatient.

“If you don’t want to, just tell me. I guess I overstepped. Never mind.” She moved away.

“No, yes, no, wait!”

“What?”

“I- This friend of yours–I forgot his name–just walked up to me a bit under two weeks ago and told me to stop behaving like an idiot.”

Rey blinked at him, thrown by his sudden change of topic. “Uhm, what?”

“The thing is, he said I need to learn to talk to women because all I ever do is insult you.”

“Well, you do,” she responded, furiously trying to figure out who would have done such a crazy thing as confronting Kylo Ren.

He dragged his hand through his hair. “I don’t know how to talk to you.”

“Apparently.”

“I can help, uhm, explain, that is. But when? You’re always working.”

Rey gritted her teeth again. There it was, the good old snide remark about her having a job.

He must have seen her change of facial expression, because he quickly threw up his hands.

“No! That wasn’t- I mean, I didn’t want to-. See? I don’t do it on purpose.”

He looked down at his shoes and Rey thought he looked sad and frustrated. Taking pity on him–he had just said he did not know how to talk to her, perhaps she should give him the benefit of the doubt–she tried to take his comment as a simple question of timing.

“I have a late shift tomorrow,” she said, “which means I’ve got free time for about three hours after school.”

He seemed almost relieved. “Yes,” he enthused, “yes, that could work. I can stay? Study in the cantina? Or go to the library?”

“Let’s go to the cantina.” At least there she could swear up a storm if she didn’t understand and nobody would kick her out for it.

“Okay. I- uhm. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

Rey nodded and gave him a small smile before heading to her locker and her next class.

xXxXxXx

She would admit it to nobody, but she was nervous to be meeting with Kylo. The entire day, she had not been able to focus on class and had done nothing but worry about her study date. Oh crap! It wasn’t a _date_ , was it? Surely he didn’t see it that way! She had merely asked for some help. No! Even he could not be that obtuse.

At least now she knew it had been Poe who had confronted Kylo. She’d asked Finn–him being the only guy she could think off–but he’d looked so shocked that it was immediately clear that, no, it was not him. That morning, however, he’d approached her and said Poe had been the one to wait for Kylo outside the school.

Rose had picked up on her nerves but had remained blissfully quiet. Rey wondered why. Normally, Rose was the first to tease her.

Right now, Rey was bouncing on her seat in the cantina, waiting for Kylo to show up. He wasn’t exactly late, but the longer she had to wait for him, the more nervous she became. She wondered if he would be nervous too. He had seemed so the day before.

“Hi.”

Rey nearly jumped out of her chair in fright.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to scare you. Do you like hot cocoa?”

She turned to look up at him. He was standing next to her, holding two of the typical take-away cups from the cantina. And did she like hot cocoa? Hell yes! She bought it whenever she thought she could afford it. Rey had a strange feeling Kylo already knew that.

“Uhm…” he said when she stayed silent for too long. He awkwardly shifted his weight.

“Yes!” she exclaimed. “Yes! I love hot cocoa. Yes!”

She felt like a moron, but the feeling lessened as he grinned at her. Damn, but he was handsome as he smiled like that.

“Good,” he said. He put down one of the cups in front of her and pulled out a chair. “So, Business, huh,” he stated. “From what point don’t you- Uhm, did you get lost?”

Rey almost laughed at his obvious attempt to prevent from insulting her. “Sometime around the last pop quiz,” she allowed. “I thought I understood, apparently I don’t.”

“Oh, okay.” He pulled his books out of his bag. “Then let’s start with chapter 7.”

After about an hour, Rey had to admit that he was actually quite a good teacher. He managed to have all the gibberish make sense. She was, however, starting to lose focus. Somehow, he seemed to pick up on it.

“Shall we take a break?”

“Yes, please,” she answered with a sigh.

His lips twitched in a small smile. “You want something to eat? I’m gonna grab a brownie.”

She did a quick calculation and decided against it; it was the end of the month after all.

“No, thank you.”

He gave her a long look, then simply stood and left for the counter. When he came back, he looked at her again–she was trying very hard not to stare at the amazing looking piece of delicious chocolate cake–and he promptly broke the brownie in half, handing her a piece.

“What are you doing?” Rey asked in surprise.

“Sharing my brownie.”

“But…”

“You can be a bit obvious.”

She didn’t know if it was meant to be a joke or an insult. She gaped like a fish for a minute, then shrugged. There was some truth in what he had said, and she kinda did want to eat it.

“Can I- Can I ask you a question?” he spoke up after a while.

“Sure,” she answered. The brownie was doing marvellous things for her mood.

“Why _are_ you following business? It makes no sense. And I don’t wish to insult you or anything. I’m honestly curious.”

She looked at him for a bit, deciding on what to say. He did seem genuine in his curiosity. Finally, she decided to simply tell him the truth, he was helping her after all. Her decision did not prevent her to look away from him while she confessed it though.

“I need to pass this class to keep my financial support. It’s a strange rule but one that has to be followed.”

“Financial support?”

Her head snapped in his direction, ready to counter his derision, but all she could see in his eyes was confusion.

“You don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?”

“I’m emancipated. I live alone, pay all the bills on my own, and so on. I thought everybody knew.”

He stared at her. “Wait, that’s why you work so much at Maz’s place?”

“Yes. The financial support I get from the state is barely enough to pay for school and rent. I need to eat, you know.”

He kept staring at her.

“Are you going to say something?” she finally asked, feeling more embarrassed by the minute.

“I really had no idea,” he finally said.

Rey shrugged. “It is what it is,” she said. “Now, shall we continue with this god-awful course?”

He shook his head and smiled. “Sure.”

Another hour later, Rey decided to call it quits. Her head felt stuffed and she didn’t think she could learn any more than she already had.

“Force, that’s enough for today!” she said. “I don’t understand how people can actually enjoy this stuff!”

Kylo laughed. “I think it’s fascinating.”

“Sure…”

He laughed again and closed his books. After stuffing them in his backpack, he looked at her and worried his lips. Rey had noticed it was a nervous tick of his. He’d done it a lot while he was explaining things; whenever he was uncertain on how to phrase something.

“Do you, uhm, do you want to meet up again after next week’s lesson?” he asked, looking everywhere but her. “So you, uhm, continue understanding?”

She stared at him. “You would be willing to do that?”

“Yes!” His dark eyes suddenly bore into hers with a startling intensity. She couldn’t look away from them. Then he seemed to falter again, his eyes flitting away. “Yes, I would,” he repeated. “I’ll try not to insult you anymore.”

Rey snorted. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said with a smile. “I need to head over to Maz’s,” she continued after a glance on her watch.

“I can walk you?” he offered. “It’s on my way home.”

“It is?”

“Uhm.” To her surprise and delight, his ears turned pink. “Sort off?”

Rey shrugged at his obvious lie. For some reason, she loathed to part with him. He was actually quite a decent guy if he watched what he was saying, and he was a very patient teacher. Maybe Poe had been right after all.

“Sure,” she said.

They walked towards the coffee shop in companionable silence.

“So, uhm,” Kylo dragged his hand through his hair when they arrived, “I’ll see you tomorrow at school?”

“Yeah,” Rey answered, for some reason feeling awkward herself. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He gave her a small wave and left. She watched him leave until he disappeared in the crowd. For once, she didn’t dread seeing him at school. Even more, she realised she was actually looking forward to it.

 

 


End file.
